Jim Gilchrist Endorses Huckabee Over Tom Tancredo, Duncan Hunter and Ron Paul!
For decades, we, at U.S. Border Control, have followed the axiom that one should never speak ill of any other immigration groups because it merely feeds ammunition to our enemies who favor open borders and amnesty for all.
But it is important to let the public know that not all immigration groups support Mike Huckabee.
Years ago, before he launched the Minuteman Project, Jim Gilchrist ran the idea past me in a conversation we had over the internet. His vision was to get volunteers, armed only with binoculars and walkie talkies, to join him at the border in order to show the government that regaining control of our borders was so easy that even grandmas and grandpas, sitting on beach chairs, could get the job done.
It was a brilliant idea and Jim Gilchrist’s experiment drew more media attention in a few months than the rest of us have been able to garner in decades. And for that, Jim deserves all our thanks for moving the immigration issues off the back burner on to the front page.
Sadly, I am afraid that Jim was not really prepared for his overnight fame and events overtook him. Shortly thereafter, he and Minuteman cofounder Chris Simcox went their separate ways with Chris establishing the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps that took in millions promising to “build a fence,” while Gilchrist’s organization became mired in legal squabbles and an ugly and very public hostile takeover attempt by Board members who claimed their funds were not being properly accounted for.
Now Jim has put himself into the spotlight again by endorsing Mike Huckabee for President! How could he do this when dedicated immigration activists like Duncan Hunter, Tom Tancredo or Ron Paul are in the race and saying what is in their hearts -- not what campaign advisors tell them to say!
I am not a political pundit. As chairman of USBC, I spend 100% of my time working to pass legislation to reform our border and immigration policies, close the borders to illegal immigration and terrorism, and prevent an amnesty for 3-50 million illegal aliens. So what I am about to say is merely my personal opinion.
My instincts say Mike Huckabee is just another political opportunist who will say or do anything to get elected. His sudden transformation to an immigration reform candidate is no different from McCain's sudden transformation. All it proves is that they can read polling data.
But before I wrote this alert, I thought I better doublecheck to see what some of the other immigration groups were saying about this Gilchrist endorsement. Maybe I missed something.
That’s when I found that Roy Beck's NumbersUSA had changed several of its ratings for Governor Huckabee from “red” to “green” in response to Huckabee’s new immigration plan. This is a big turnaround from just a few days before, when Beck characterized the Governor as a “disaster” in the area of immigration.
In their latest chart of the candidates, NumbersUSA gave weight to recent statements and platform positions of the candidates in addition to their actual votes. I think it is risky, at best, to rely on statements over actual deeds, but that is how Mike Huckabee managed to move up the charts.
What does USBC think of Mike Huckabee? U.S. Border Control does not endorse or oppose candidates seeking public office as it is illegal for a nonprofit lobby group to do so. But we do, however, publish a highly regarded scorecard that analyzes the voting patterns of elected officials so that voters can make informed decisions when they go to the polls.
Our ratings are being finalized now and will be announced shortly -- in plenty of time for Americans who want to know how their Congressman, Senators or the Presential candidates voted on immigration and border policy issues.
Our rating system is traditional. We give no weight to campaign rhetoric, nor do our ratings rely on the often misleading high profile votes. Instead, our ratings are based on those critical amendments and procedural votes that show exactly where a candidate stands on border and immigration issues.
If you would like to receive a copy of our ratings when it comes out, send me an email with the word "Scorecard" on the subject line, or, better, yet, sign up right now to receive our infrequent but important alerts, including our Scorecard ratings and updates.
Wishing you a happy and healthy holiday season and best wishes for the new year.
Edward I. Nelson, Chairman
U.S. Border Control (
http://www.usbc.org/)
U.S. Border Control Foundation (
http://www.usbcf.org/)
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U.S. Border Patrol Organization comments on Huckabee and Jim Gilchrist's Endorsement
